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Oil Slump May Prompt U.A.E. Spending Cuts, Central Bank Says

The United Arab Emirates may cut government spending as a result of the slump in oil prices, Central Bank Governor Mubarak Rashed Al Mansoori said. The decline in the government’s oil revenue “may trigger further fiscal consolidation, albeit at a gradual pace, to preserve priority spending in support of non-oil growth,” Al Mansoori said at a conference in Dubai on Monday. Oil accounted for almost a third of the nation’s gross domestic product last year, government data show. The price of Brent crude has dropped more than 40 percent in the past year, putting a strain on economies in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, where governments rely on income from oil to fund spending. The U.A.E. banking sector has lost 56 billion dirhams ($15.25 billion) in government deposits since September last year, National Bank of Abu Dhabi Chief Executive Officer Alex Thursby said last month. The global economic slowdown […]

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Leaked Emirati Emails Could Threaten Peace Talks in Libya

Photo Libyans demonstrated in Benghazi last month against a peace deal brokered by Bernardino Léon, a United Nations mediator. Credit Abdullah Doma/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images CAIRO — The United Arab Emirates was shipping weapons to favored belligerents in Libya over the summer in violation of an international arms embargo while simultaneously offering a highly paid job to the United Nations diplomat drafting a peace accord there, leaked Emirati emails show. The leaked correspondence is threatening to undermine months of Libyan talks by tarring the diplomat with an apparent conflict of interest. The emails also open a new window into the hidden and contradictory machinations of regional players like the United Arab Emirates that have helped inflame the fighting even as their diplomats say they support a peaceful solution. “The fact of the matter is that the U.A.E. violated the U.N. Security Council Resolution on Libya and continues to […]

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ADIPEC: Strain of low oil prices apparent even at plush Gulf meeting

On stage only a short time after the United Arab Emirates said it would increase its oil production despite low worldwide prices, the oil and gas minister of neighboring Oman didn’t pull any punches. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the minister of state in the United Arab Emirates, smiles while listening to a speech in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015. Speaking from a Gulf nation whose skyscrapers rose on oil wealth, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has called on the rest of the wealthy Arab world to put their money toward renewable and clean energy ahead of the landmark climate change conference in Paris later this year. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell) ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — On stage only a short time after the United Arab Emirates said it would increase its oil production despite low worldwide prices, the oil and gas minister of […]

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Dubai Stocks Enter Bear Market as Mideast Equities Slump on Oil

Dubai stocks dropped into a bear market, leading declines across most Middle Eastern equity markets, after Friday’s U.S. labor report increased expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates this year, pushing Brent crude lower. The DFM General Index slid 3 percent to 3,347.23, the lowest level since December and the biggest drop in more than two months. The gauge has fallen more than 20 percent since a peak in April. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index lost 0.6 percent, closing at the lowest level since January 2013. “When you see an aggressive drop in oil price, it puts people on edge,” said Ahmed Shehada, the Dubai-based executive director for advisory and institutions at NBAD Securities LLC, a unit of the U.A.E.’s biggest bank. “In addition, there are the banks’ results. A lot of operating income has dropped and this is having” an effect across the board, he […]

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Oil Slump Weighs on Saudi, U.A.E Businesses as PMI Drops

The slump in oil prices is sapping growth momentum of private businesses in the two biggest Arab economies, according to a key indicator released on Tuesday. The Emirates NBD Purchasing Managers’ Index for Saudi Arabia dropped for a second month in a row to 55.7 in October, the lowest level since since the survey began in 2009, driven by weaker expansion in new business. The same measure for the United Arab Emirates fell to 54 from 56 in September, the lowest since April 2013, the Dubai-based bank said. Readings above 50 still signal expansion, while those below indicate contraction. Oil prices have dropped more than 40 percent over the last year, prompting some governments in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to plan spending cuts and curb or eliminate fuel subsidies. Non-oil economic growth in the region will slow to 3.8 percent this year from 5.5 percent in 2014, according […]

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Expect more oil from United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates could expand oil production using enhanced recovery techniques, U.S. Energy Information Administration reports. File photo by A.J. Sisco/UPI WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (UPI) — OPEC-member United Arab Emirates could expand oil production by 30 percent by 2020 using a costly recovery technique, a U.S. federal review finds. The United Arab Emirates was the third-largest contributor to oil production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last month. September oil production of 2.9 million barrels per day represented a 0.8 percent increase from the previous month. A brief report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Emirati production could increase by 30 percent by 2020 using a process called enhanced oil recovery. Primary recovery from oil deposits relates to natural pressure in the reservoir. Secondary recovery involves water or gas injection into the well to increase production. Enhanced oil recovery techniques include further stimulation from steam, gas or […]

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UAE on track to meet 3.5 mil b/d production capacity target in 2017: energy minister

The UAE is continuing to invest in its oil and gas development plans despite lower oil prices, and is on track to meet its 2017 production capacity aims, energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said Sunday. The Persian Gulf state will spend as much as $35 billion in an attempt to cut its dependence on natural gas for power generation. "We are continuing with our investments," Mazrouei said at an energy event in Abu Dhabi, state-run WAM news agency reported Sunday, adding that was no delay due to the fall in the price of crude oil. The sharp oil price decline that began in the second half of 2014 has prompted concern over upstream investments, but Mazrouei reiterated that the UAE remained on track to meet its medium-term production capacity target of 3.5 million b/d by late 2017 or early 2018, up from around 3 million b/d currently. Article continues below… […]

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Rig maker Lamprell expects tough year

Rig company Lamprell says low oil prices may mean fewer customers in 2015. (UPI/Shutterstock/James Jones Jr.) SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 12 (UPI) — Emirati rig builder Lamprell said Monday it expects the weak market for crude oil will impact its ability to land new contracts in 2015. The oil services company said it had a strong year in 2014, but didn’t anticipate a replication of that success . "With the recent slump in the oil price, winning work in 2015 is going to be a challenge as the industry adjusts to the new realities," Chief Executive Officer Jim Moffat said in a statement. Oil prices have lost roughly half of their value since June as markets tilt toward the supply side in a weakened global economy. The price is forcing some industry leaders to cut back on capital spending plans for 2015, which is spilling over into secondary […]

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Age of Plenty Seen Over for Gulf Arabs as Oil Tumbles

The boom that adorned Gulf Arab monarchies with glittering towers, swelled their sovereign funds and kept unrest largely at bay may be over after oil prices dropped by almost 50 percent in the last six months. The sheikhdoms have used the oil wealth to remake their region. Landmarks include man-made islands on reclaimed land, as well as financial centers, airports and ports that turned the Arabian desert into a banking and travel hub. The money was also deployed to ward off social unrest that spread through the Middle East during the Arab Spring. “The region has had 10 years of abundance,” said Simon Williams , HSBC Holdings Plc’s chief economist for central and eastern Europe , the Middle East and North Africa. “But that decade of plenty is done. The drop in oil prices will hurt performance in the near term, even if the Gulf’s buffers are powerful enough […]

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U.A.E. Concerned That Oil Glut May Curb Exploration, Production

The collapse in oil prices may deter investment in exploration and production projects predicated on $100 crude, United Arab Emirates’ Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said. “What worries us is that some investors will not continue to invest,” Al Mazrouei told reporters today in Abu Dhabi. “Not us, others, are not going to continue to invest. And in a few years, we’re going to face difficulties finding enough investments in the market.” Oil has fallen into a bear market this year on increased output of U.S. shale and other supplies. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, including the U.A.E., will meet Nov. 27 to assess the market and production. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have resisted calls for the group to cut output, while Libya, Venezuela and Ecuador have asked for action to keep prices from falling lower. Brent crude has tumbled 29 percent since June 19. “This isn’t the […]

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BP, Shell in running for Emirati oil fields

BP, Shell in top running for onshore licenses in the United Arab Emirates. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian LONDON, Sept. 29 (UPI) — British energy company BP and Dutch supermajor Shell are in the running for oil prizes in the Persian Gulf region, the Emirati minister of energy said Monday. Close to a dozen international energy companies are competing for the rights to tap in to onshore oil fields in the region. BP and Royal Dutch Shell have a decades-old partnership with the Abu Dhabi Co. for Onshore Oil Operations, already pumping 1.5 million barrels of oil per day. Suhail al-Mazrouei, minister of energy for the United Arab Emirates, told The Telegraph both companies are in the top running for onshore licenses . "Shell and BP are amongst those companies that submitted bids," he said in an interview published Monday. "They have been legacy partners, and we hope they will have a […]

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Islamic State Draws U.A.E. Into Fight Against Extremists

For the desert cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi , luxury, prosperity and security in a region torn by conflict are things worth protecting. In a country known more for building glitzy shopping malls and trophy skyscrapers than battling terrorists, the United Arab Emirates is involved in the fight against Islamic militants like never before. It took part last week in U.S.-led airstrikes against Islamic State, underlining the scale of the perceived threat from the extremists after they took cities in Iraq and this month gained ground in Syria . “This is more than a red line for them and that is why they are pro-actively taking part in those strikes,” said Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of Cornerstone Global Associates, which advises clients on risk in the Middle East. Islamic State has “the ability to expand whereas al-Qaeda did not,” he said. The U.A.E. and fellow Gulf Arabs regard Islamist […]

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Abu Dhabi oil expansion backed by $52 bil in committed investment: execs

Abu Dhabi (Platts)–12Nov2013/215 am EST/715 GMT Executives of the UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and affiliated operating partnerships have disclosed about $52 billion of investment commitments intended to achieve a government target of raising Abu Dhabi’s oil production capacity to 3.5 million b/d by 2017, even as the emirate undergoes what promises to be a major shift in its concession structure. The investment total includes major contracts already awarded in the past two to three years. But the bulk of the spending is planned for the next three years, as the UAE’s major oil producing emirate intensifies its push to lift output capacity from its current level of, at most, 2.9 million b/d, mostly from aging fields with high depletion rates. ADNOC Deputy Director of Strategy and Coordination, Omar al-Suwaidi, told delegates attending the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in the UAE capital Monday that its […]

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